Before the Worst
by sweetmorphine187
Summary: The case before it all. Rated T for eventual violence and language. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is my first Death Note fanfic, written about six months ago. I've always wondered how L's life was like before he becames involved in the Kira case. This is my own version of the story, set about five years before the Kira case and two years before the Los Angeles B.B. Murders. Enjoy.**

**Default Chapter**

The darkness was suffocating. Every glimmer, every flicker of light, was swallowed whole and devoured by the cold nothingness. Nothing stirred, nothing breathed. Life had been snuffed out like a burning cigarette in a snowstorm.

Suddenly, a light pierced the dark, jackknifing through the curtains of black. A door, riddled with bullets and nearly hacked off its hinges, was illuminated for an instant. The next second, it was gone.

Rustling. The gentle puff of a breath. A muffled thump disturbed the silence as something heavy hit the floor. Then a slow shuffling, footsteps whispering against the cold concrete. They were heading for the door.

A fly swooped through the hole in the ceiling, its buzz almost deafening in the silence. Humming, it flew to investigate the strange new being crouched along the floor.

A long, slender hand shot out and trapped the fly in between two pale fingers. They held it up to an ear, listening to its anguished cries. A quick pinch later, and the fly was silenced. The grin that followed was terrifying.

The door creaked gently on rusty hinges as it was pushed open. Roaches scurried in every direction as a bare white foot descended in their midst, squashing one of their brethren in the process. It was scraped off without as much as a grimace. The person stopped. Waiting.

Boom! The room lit up like a football field, hundreds upon hundreds of bulbs flashing to life in a split second. White light exploded from power grids in the ceiling, sending a shower of sparks raining down on the figure below.

She lowered the arm that was flung up to protect her bright green eyes. They flickered once, and then the grin was back.

"Hello again, L."

**Please review! And tell me if you want for me to continue with this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I didn't get many reviews, but I'm going to continue this anyway! :) There wil be at least two OC characters in this fic. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter 2**

L stepped softly into the glaring arena.

"I thought I heard someone in here." he murmured, studying his fingernails as if the whole thing was of no concern to him. His shaggy black hair obscured his vision, but his jaw was tight, betraying the tension that fairly crackled in the air.

"Doesn't an old friend get a hug from L, the world's greatest detective?" She laughed mockingly, sweeping her arms out. Her black coat billowed as she gestured, giving the look of an evil, demented bat swooping down on its prey.

"What do you want from me?" L asked, blunt as ever. His black eyes stared into her green ones, gauging her up and down. So this was the person who had managed to find him. He should've known.

"Come now, L. We're all friends here- at least, one of us is." She laughed again. "I must say, you made it far too easy for me to find you. An audio clip, really? You must be slipping up."

She scratched the bottom of her foot, flicking the last few legs of the roach away.

"Fine then, I'll tell you. It's rather obvious really. People only go to a detective if they need a case solved. I took considerable time to locate you. I'm sure your marvelous brain can take it from there."

"I know you're perfectly capable of solving any case without my help. And after all, you've never given me a reason to trust you about anything, let alone a case." The steel in his voice should have made anyone cringe, and she did seem to wilt a little under his unblinking gaze. Still, he felt uneasy. What on earth was going on?

"You're a fool if you still believe in those so-called "values" of yours, L. You don't need "trust" to work with someone, so long as you can use them the right way. But I digress. As much as I despise coming to you for help, I do actually require your assistance." She muttered the last few words, gritting them out between clenched teeth.

L could have laughed. But he didn't.

"And for what purpose do you need my help for?

She withdrew a roll of papers from her jacket, handing them over to him. Delicately lifting the first page, his eyes quickly scanned the sheet. Then the next, and the next. He glanced up from the page only when she coughed pointedly.

"So? Does this warrant an investigation?"

"Hmmm." L mulled it over, chewing blithely on his thumbnail. Suddenly, he withdrew a cell phone from his pocket. Punching in a few numbers, he held it against his ear, never once taking his eyes off the woman in front of him.

"Watari? I need the records for every homicide that took place in Taiwan over the past year. What's that?" He fell silent, flipping over a page from the packet. For the briefest instant, his eyes widened.

"Narrow them down by body mutilation… I see. Thank you, Watari." He shut the phone off and slid it silently back into his pocket.

"Well?" She burst out, impatient.

"I agree that it is indeed suspicious. However, we return to the previous topic; how do I know I can trust you?"

She smiled toothily and took back the paper, igniting it with a lighter she produced from her coat. L watched it go up in flames, the flimsy papers reduced to floating ash as she dropped it on the floor.

"You don't. So here's the question: What are you going to do about it?"

L smirked slightly, his slouch straightening up the slightest bit.

"You haven't changed at all. Just as manipulative as before." She pulled a mock curtsy.

"Of course. And you expected less? I know you, L. You're still just like when we were children at Wammy's House, always about honor and decency. You would never take the chance of letting innocent people die while we banter back and forth over whether or not I'm trustworthy."

L didn't bother to deny it. It was true.

Satisfied, she flipped him a small, blank white business card.

"Watari will know what to do with that. He'll put you in touch with Franz. What shall I call you in Taiwan?"

"Ryuzaki will be sufficient. And you?"

"You can call me Amaya, Ryuzaki." She extended a hand, and they both pasted fake smiles on their faces as they shook, two pairs of eyes shining innocently at each other.

It was going to be an interesting working relationship.

**Please review! I honestly don't know how long I'm going to have the motivation, but reviews always help. Thanks!**


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